Sixth element
by Proxy4818
Summary: During a mission Saito & company discover a mysterious girl who displays foreign magic that even surpasses that of the void. However she has no memory of who she is other than her name. After it's decided to take her to the magic academy danger starts to approach her in the form of old and new enemies. Will Saito be able to protect her from those after her or fail and die? SaitoXoc
1. Chapter 1

**OK this is one story I've been aiming to get out of the way for a while.**

**Disclaimer: I ****don't own ZNT**

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Saito wasn't having the best of days but not the worst either. His master and more or less friend had been panicking over what she would thave to ell her closest and oldest friend henrietta.

A few days back Louise and Saito were sent on a mission to investigate the actions of a high ranking Noble who was suspected of taking an unknown artifact to Gallia without the palace's permission.

Truth be told no one knew what the said item was according to those at the palace, to add on to the confusion Romillia requested for the mission to be carried out.

"Ugh, why are we out here again?" a blond earth Mage complained

"Because his holiness personally requested it, now stay silent." deadpanned the prideful void Mage Louise who was annoyed with Guiche.

He spent the first half of the mission going on and on about how he would brag to the female students back at the academy after the mission was done. Unfortunately the task didn't go as smoothly as everyone had hoped.

After spending two days tracking the suspected noble near the Gallian border.

Saito and the others tried to confront the said man peacefully but he refused to let them look at the possession he had with him, Louise in turn tried to become demanding, the situation escalated into a violent confrontation. Which ended with the said Noble making a hasty retreat.

After that things went downhill from there and Guiche's whining which soon followed didn't help any whatsoever.

Looking back on it now Saito realized he didn't have any real desire for the mission to drag out either.

After heading further up the only road the noble under suspicion would be able to take to cut him off, the entire group which also consisted of Kirche and Tabitha along with the dragon familiar Syphled, and finally Colbert had set up a special yet simple trap and had been waiting for three hours.

Because of this everyone was starting to wander if he already passed through to Gallia but Tabitha said she spotted him when she used her familiar to fly ahead.

Still there wasn't any sign of the target.

"OK I've had enough of this." Saito said heading out into the raid from where he and the others were hiding.

"Where do think you're going?" Demanded Louise.

Saito was annoyed with his master's attitude but decided just to answer her.

"Back down the road. If we head down the road from the opposite direction we'll find this guy faster."

Louise opened her mouth to protest but realized that Saito was actually right.

Seeing that he had convinced Louise at least he started to turn when he found himself floating in the air.

"Wh what's going on?" Saito questioned confused.

He didn't have to wait to get his answer. Soon he and Louise were brought back behind the thing line of trees everyone else was still hiding behind. The one who levitated the two was none other then the quiet withdrawn Mage Tabitha.

"What do you think you're doing?" Louise hissed angrily. She didn't like behind levitated.

"Approaching." was all the blue haired Mage said.

Hearing this Saito became even more baffled which led to his response

"I don't ge…"

Saito stopped in mid sentence not because of someone trying further to silence him but because of the sudden sound of a carriage nearby.

When looked to the left where the sound was coming from but didn't see anything at first.

In the passing moments figures started to appear. The were all middle aged men holding varies weapons, there were about twenty or thirty of them.

"It looks like this guy actually came prepared this time wouldn't you say partner?"

The one who spoke was the magically forged sword on Saito's back Derflinger.

"Yeah. But considering what happen last time it kind of makes sense."

"I suppose."

"We don't have a lot of time to worry. Besides none of these guys are mages so their strength is limited."

Saito felt relieved about that particular fact. The target

alone proved to be a formidable opponent the idea of adding more mages to the mix wasn't exactly flattering still just because all the armed men who were most likely mercenaries hired by the Mage under suspicion weren't able to use magic didn't mean they wouldn't prove to be an obstacle.

Regardless it didn't matter the mission took full priority over everything else.

Waiting silently the group could hear the sound of a horse carriage approaching. A few seconds after the said carriage came into view the Mage the group had been sent after was sitting in the front steering the horses.

"Hurry up, we're not much further from the border of Gallia." the Noble announced.

Hearing this it was confirmed that he was at least taking whatever he put in the carriage to Gallia. One thing that confused Saito at least that the man he and the others were sent inspect was driving a carriage which was made for people to ride in. A cart would be more appropriate for carrying cargo or other items so why a vehicle made for carrying Nobility.

Either way nobody had time to ask questions. As the caravan of recently hired mercenaries approach the section of road where the trap was set up Colbert pointed out his wand and used a fire ball spell on a certain part or road which lit ablaze in an instant.

Earlier when the group decided to use the current location they were in to ambush the noble they decided to cover the raid in oil to keep it lit after a fire spell was used on it.

The slopes on each side of the road were far to steep for an horse to get up while pulling a carriage so there wasn't any way the Middle aged Mage could go around it.

Soon after Guiche created about five or six Valkeries and sent them at the mercenaries.

With that done everyone came out of hiding to confront the man they had been tailing.

Upon seeing the group that had tried to look at what he had before the Mage's face grew angry.

"You again? Stay out of my way!"

Louise stepped forward and gave a response that'd give the impression that she was ignoring the man's previous comment.

"By the authority of her majesty I hereby order to hand over possession of that Carriage?"

Saito just shot Louise a stare that pretty made made it a given that he was wandering if she was an idiot. The person she was confronted didn't show any sign of cooperating during the last encounter he surely wouldn't this time.

"Damn you? I'll not allow you imbeciles to interfere with me any longer!"

With that the Mage pointed out his wand at let loose a strong wind spell which was countered by an explosion spell that Louise had prepared prematurely.

Colbert, Kirche and Tabitha decided that the mercenaries needed to be defeated first before the Noble could be focused on.

Since both Kirche and Tabitha were fighting along with the assistance of Guiche( who was spending more time boasting than helping) and Colbert who was a square class fire Mage, Saito figure the hired men would be taken care of soon enough.

With the next step of what of do being clear Saito ran after the individual Louise had tried to establish dominance over.

With his sword drawn Saito's runes activated giving him a slight power and speed boost. Regardless the target he was after notices him and attempted to use a simple dot class wind spell to do away with Saito.

To his surprise the swordsman cut through the spell and continued towards the Noble who was bent on getting to Gallia.

The former grew further enraged by the situation and decided that if the commoner want to die then the Mage would happily grant that wish.

Shooting a beam a lightening at the human familiar the suspected man expected an easy victory however to more of his astonishment the familiar merely blocked the attack which was absorbed.

Soon after Saito was running at a fast pace towards the Noble and jumped in the air with his sword raised.

The wind mage snapped back to reality and shot off another lighting spell which Saito attempted to cut through but the force of the magic attack sent him flying backwards through the air even as the attack was being absorbed.

While her familiar was sent skidding across the ground Louise casted another explosion spell which was used to sever the parts of the cart which connected it to the horses that were dragging it.

The carriage itself was pushed back a good number of meters from the force of the void spell.

The wind Mage was now sprawled out on the ground and was stuggling to get up.

By this time almost all the mercenaries had been defeated or had retreated.

Realizing this the Noble that had been tailed was now nothing short of livid. After coming so far he was being delayed by the Tristania nobility. He couldn't take it anymore, he was fed up with these upstarts.

"THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH. I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO BE THIS PERSISTENT BUT IT ENDS HERE!"

With that the disgruntled Noble shot off an endless barrage of ice shards at the entire group forcing them all the create a large distance between themselves and him while the blizzard of ice shards.

Colbert attempted to use flame spells to counter but at most the only succeeded in halting the attack's advancement towards the students.

"I'VE BEEN PROMISED A VERY GENEROUS REWARD FOR THE DELIVERY OF MY CARGO TO THE GALLIAN PALACE AND I'LL NOT ALLOW YOU PARASITES TO STOP ME!"

Everyone's eyes went wide at hearing that. If what the corrupt noble was true then that meant that whatever was in the carriage was something that Joseph was after and considering all the things he's done in the past he wasn't to be trusted and as such it would obviously be best if he never got the cargo. Right? Of course, knowing Joseph he would just use whatever was in the carriage for a purpose that would just cause harm to others.

Still the problem remained that the current opponent needed to be subdued. Unfortunately that task was easier said than done and the account that the man was releasing a never ending air cutter spell which kept everyone from doing anything to truly counter it, Colbert's flame by this time had been overpowered and as a result he was forced to hide behind a tree.

Louise being the only one able to counter in any way used the only solution she had at her disposal.

After finishing the incantation the said girl used dispell which stopped the assault of ice.

The noble himself was caught off guard was rushed by the human familiar Saito who had actually minimized the distance between himself and the current enemy.

Using the Nobles confusion to his advantage Saito closed the open space the separated him from the Noble and delivered a swift cut across the mage's chest causing him to fall to the ground.

Seeing this the few remaining mercenaries dropped their weapons and fled.

The victors having been decided all the was left to do was apprehend the violent Mage and take possession of whatever he was taking to Gallia.

Sheathing Derflinger, Saito went in the direction of the Carraige. The primitive vehicle was sent a good distance back but not out of walking range.

"Aright let's have a look ins…"

Saito stopped in mid sentence. The carriage had a large piece of its' side ripped off revealing the inside.

Saito wondered why something normally used to transport people would be used to transport an item. Now he recurred the answer. It was because what was inside wasn't a magic item, it was something else entirely.

Upon seeing it he ran for the carriage and ripped more of the carriage's side off, it was fairly easy since the structure of the carriage had sustained do much damage.

Reaching inside Saito yelled for the others.

"You guys might want to see this!"

"What are you going on about? Whatever was in that doesn't matter. Taking back to Trisain is our priority. Louise retorted. She wasn't interested in Saito's sudden change of mood just in completing the mission and being praised for it.

Everyone else just casually walked over not sure of what Saito was so riled up about but as soon as he spun around and showed everyone what was in his arms they all stopped and stood with the mouths hanging open.

In his arms was a girl, a teen girl around the same age as the others.

"This is a rather unexpected turn of events." Colbert said walking over.

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**OK that's it for the first I hope you guys are looking forward to future chapters though updates are going to be rather slow at times since I'm still working on the plot and other stories.**

**PS: for those wandering about the relationship between Saito and Louise in this particular story, to put simply thu atleast found common ground that allowed them to fight side by side but it never got to the point of a relationship, in other words in this story Louise and Saito were never lovers, simply allies.**


	2. Unusual seal

**It looks like I got off to a good start though I aopologize if it seemed a little rushed.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ZNT**

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Inspecting the girl that Saito had discovered inside the destroyed carriage Colbert couldn't find anything unusual other then the girl's restraints. Appearance wise she looked normal.

She wore plain thick white robes that covered all of body, her hair was was shoulder length and had a rare extremely light shade of orange do bright the her hair was almost white her skin had an almost pale complexion. The thing the made the situation bizarre was the chain wrapped around the girl's body, the chain's surface was unexpectedly well refined as opposed to usual chains which would be half covered in rust, but that wasn't what made it catch jeans attention. What jerked his attention was the green jewel the acted in place of a link in the middle of the chain.

Jean started inspecting the said jewel and it didn't take him long to figure out what its' function was.

Guiche wore what could be looked at as an enticed expression, no doubt contemplating trying to win the girl over through lies and cliché lines.

"Any idea who she is?" Saito asked.

"Not in the slightest. I've never come across such a person before. This is all so strange, especially when you consider the seal that's been put in place."

"A seal?!" Saito asked.

"Yes there's a magic seal that's been placed on the chain through this jewel here."

Colbert then showed Saito and the others the previously mentioned object and turned back to face the girl again.

"I'm going to try and undo the seal but it may take some time. Restrain the Noble we were tailing before.

Kirche Louise and Guiche immediately walked over to the defeated Noble. He was still unconscious from the injury Saito had inflicted.

Walking over to Colbert who now had the girl's unconscious form rested against a tree Saito spoke.

"I know it's probably pointless asking this but is there any chance that you at least have a slight idea as to why this girl was being taken to Gallia."

"Unfortunately no, I truly wish I did though. If someone was going to these lengths just to transport one girl then there's a high chance she holds great significance."

"Really? What makes you say that."

"The seal on the chain restraining her."

"What about it?"

"This seal, weather it was one person or a group whoever placed this seal is a square class Mage in a class of their own."

"Really now?" Saito asked.

He knew of a few square class Mages that powerful such as Colbert himself, Tabitha and Karin. But it was obvious none of them placed the seal, Colbert and Tabitha wouldn't be sent on this particular mission if they did and Karin more or less never left the valliare's villa unless the was some kind of gathering that required nobles to attend, at least not to Saito's knowledge.

"Yes this seal is even more powerful then the one that was placed on the academy's vault."

"If I remember correctly only Louise void magic could beak that."

"True but I'd rather not have her get involved with undoing this seal."

"Wh why?" Saito asked bow confused, Jean's statement caught him off guard, considering that it took the unintentional use of Louise void magic to beak the seal to the academy's vault wouldn't also be the best solution to the chain's seal?

"Because her explosion may break the seal but it will also harm this girl in the process possibly inflicting fatal wounds."

"What about her dispell ability?"

"I can Imagine that dispell would work."

"Yeah and on top of that it won't hurt this girl."

"Very well but first I'd like to check her condition."

Changing the professor's mind about relying on Louise's magic was fairly easy. The void familiar couldn't help but wander why Colbert hadn't though of using Louise's dispell in the first place. He may have never directly witnessed it but he was informed about it.

"Ok."

With that Saito walked over to the others to see how far along they were.

"Tie the knot better than that Guiche." Louise yelled at the blond Mage.

Viewing the what was taking place it was clear that Louise, Kiche, and Tabitha just decided to make Guiche tie up the Noble. As far as Saito was concerned it was probably the only thing Guiche had done that was actually useful.

"How are we going take this guy back? Carrying him by horse is going to be such a hassle." Kirche chimed in.

Louise was annoyed by the redhead's complaining consider she would be the one carrying the unconscious form on her horse.

"Syphled." Tabitha said speaking briefly.

Her dragon familiar could easily carry the defeated noble in her claws. Odds were he'd be tried by the Tristania palace for consorting with Joseph who by now was more or less recognized as an enemy to all of Halkeginia.

"We should head to the palace, her majesty's must be angered by our delay."

Saito knew that wasn't true Henrietta was very forgiving especially when it came to matters involving Louise. The pinkette was just exaggerating which is something she seriously needed to learn to stop doing in Saito's opinion it was somewhat understandable but more annoying.

"Now that that's settled we have one more thing to decid on" Saito said walking away from the group and back to where Colbert was.

"How is she?" the Japanese boy asked referring to the unconscious female.

Colbert wore what could be viewed as an expression of relief.

"She doesn't seemed to have sustained any serious injury."

Saito smiled at hearing this.

"However, she's not breathing or showing any signs of waking up in the near future."

The teen boy's smile faded in an instant at hearing this.

"Does that mean she's…?"

Colbert cut in knowing what Saito would ask.

"No, she's not dead. I can say without any doubt she's alive."

"That's good to know."

"I think it would be best if we brought her back to the academy, the staff there should be willing to let her stay in the infirmary at least."

"Sounds good to me." Saito said.

the academy was one of the best places to keep her. At least there no one would try to take her to the incompetent king of Gallia.

Louise by this time had heard much of what they said.

"What about the orders from the palace?" The pinkette exclaimed.

"It was merely requested that we investigate what the Noble we up to and that if he was confirmed to be transporting goods into Gallia and we did. Beyond that it's our decision what we do with this one.

Louise simply scowled. It was probably because she wanted to take the girl to the church of Romilia to show proof of her loyalty.

"Louise I also need you to use your dispell to undo the magic seal on this chain."

"Ok."

Not saying anything further Louise went through the necessary incantation and used her dispell on the chain.

For the first few moments nothing happened. Saito grew slightly annoyed by this. Any other time the spell did it's job so why wasn't anything happened now?

"This is a first." Saito said earning a death glare from his master.

"What is? Commoner."

"Your void magic not working."

Just after Saito said that however the jewel that was attached to the chain started to crack.

Saito had barely taken noticed and stared at the jewel intently.

"It looks like Louise's magic at least weakened the seal." Colbert pointed out.

"Yeah but unfortunately the seal isn't going to stay weekend. Take a look."

Colbert and Louise did what Saito said and soon their eyes went wide with shock.

The jewels newly form cracks were disappearing.

"Th this is…impossible. The seal…it's restoring itself" Colbert explained.

Holding together even after having void magic used on it was one thing but to regenerate was another story.

What ever magic was holding the chaine and jewel in place was obviously on par with that of the void. But how could that be possible? the void is a sacred powered wielded by brimir himself, even the other four elements paled in comparison.

"This really doesn't make sense, why would someone use magic just to keep a single girl restrained?" Saito asked.

"I'm not sure but whoever placed this seal must have been an absolute prodigy to be able to accomplish this. Even Valliere's void was unable to undo the seal."

"Then what'll we do now?! We can't just leave this girl chained up like this!" Saito exclaimed.

He may not have known the girl but he doubted that she'd done anything to d

"Don't worry. I still have more idea up my sleeve but I'll need louise's help assuming the first part of the plan works."

Colbert then pointed his wand at the jewel and smaller and much less visible cracks started to appear. Even it first glance it obvious that the cracks weren't getting any bigger but there wasn't another noticable feature that was jerking jean and Saito's attention.

The cracks weren't disappearing.

"it's working." the Mage known as the snake of flame said before turning to Louise

"Use your dispell again!"

Louise did what was instructed of her.

Instantly the cracks expanded to the point that the jewel looked ready to burst into pieces but still miraculously held together. Still Thanks to Colbert's magic the cracks weren't disappearing.

"Once more Louise." Colbert said.

After seeing the cycle of what Colbert was doing Saito had a clear idea of what Colbert's plan was. Basically he was having Louise do the initial damage to the seal while he kept from repairing itself. Using this tactic the seal would be weakened more and more until it would be forced to come undone.

Once the final incantation was done Louise pointed her wand at the jewel and used her dispell one last time.

The cracks expanded and extended until a bright white glow could be seen coming from inside of them.

"Just a little longer." Colbert said.

Louise focused firmly on what she was trying to do. It was pretty much a given that she wasn't happy about the capability of her void magic being undermined by a seal.

The cracks grew and grew until

…

…

…

Suddenly a shockwave shot out sending Louise, Colbert, and, Saito skidding across the ground.

He wasn't injured but the force of the impact sent him back few meters. The sound of foot steps grabbed the boy's attention it was obvious that whoever it was they were heading his way.

The one who was headed to Saito's side was Tabitha who spoke briefly.

"Are you hurt?"

"N no thanks though."

After assuring the sky color haired Mage that he was fine Saito began heading back in the girls direction.

During the short stroll he caught a glimpse of Guicje and Kirche checking on the well beings of Louise and jean. The human familiar wasn't sure if the seal was broken or not, in the split second it took for the shock wave to send him away he only caught a glimpse of what looked like the chain snapping in half, unfortunately there was no way to confirm this since it was only viewed momentarily for all Saito knew it could have been a figment of his imagination.

He wouldn't have to wait long to find out though. As soon as he laid eyes on the girl he smiled.

The person in question was still unconscious but they were no longer bonded by the chain which pieces of we're now scattered around the entire area and to add on to the better news the girl showed more signs of life.

When Saito got close enough he heard faint breathing. He couldn't be sure so he decided to see of the female teen's chest was expanding and retracting. It was easier said then done since the robes she wore were so thick. It would be hard to tell her chest size as far as Saito knew she could be a wash board like his annoying master, or have mountains on par with Tiffania's. The thought made Saito blush but with the current situation at hand he didn't have time to worry about such things.

"I think she's going be okay." the black haired boy announced picking the unknown girl up bridal style.

The light orange hair colored girl let out a low moan. Hearing this Saito could say for a fact that she'd wake up soon.

"Let's start heading back." Colbert announced.

"And before that why don't we use this." a female voice said.

Everyone turned to see Kirche who was standing in front of a cart. There were a few empty bottles which probably held liquor which was drunk by the mercenaries.

"Where did that come from?" Guiche asked.

"A few of those men he fought off were riding in it. since they're not around anymore I figure we could use it."

"That's an excellent idea!" Colbert complimented eating one of the red heads usual seductive smiles which he more or less ignored

Saito himself agreed since it would make things easier on the unconscious stranger in his arms.

still the material needed to attach the Cart to the horses reigns was in order. Still if they were left almost all the equipment the mercenaries left behind Colbert could just use alchemy to create the necessary materials.

It took a minute or a minute or two but after a little bit of searching the group found the needed items.

Saito helped out with attaching the cart to the horses to speed up the process as far as he was concerned the raster he was at the academy the better.

XXXXX

Later that night everyone save for Colbert who was driving the cart and Kirche who was leaned up against him making failing attempts at seducing him were fast asleep.

It wasn't that Colbert didn't fund her beautiful but he had the modesty to date someone his own age.

Everyone else were in the cart. Louise and Guiche were on one side sleeping in opposite corner. While Saito and the unknown female were on the other.

Saito slept sitting up against the cart's inner side while the latter was laying across the rest of bench with her head just inches away from Saito's lap.

Tabitha who was also awake was flying on Syphled's back with the captured Noble being carried in the wind dragon's claws.

Colbert's thought were completely occupied be key questions of who the girl he and the other found was and where she had come from. He might be able to ask Osmond but he didn't have much faith in the idea of the headmaster knowing anything

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**I'm still trying to work a few things out with another one of my other stories so the next update might take a while.**


	3. Awakening

**Here's the third chapter. And I probably should have mentioned this before if you haven't already figured it out but this fanfic starts out after season three and no it's not going to follow what happened in the final season though considering the prologue that should be pretty obvious.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ZNT**

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The night had passed and everyone had made safely back to the academy.

Colbert decided to have the girl that was recently found kept in the infirmary.

In that time it was decided that someone needed to be sent to the palace to personally report what happened with the mission. Colbert volunteered because he was leading the mission and felt it was his responsibility, Kirche decided to go with him probably to make attempts at seducing him.

Saito had decided to help the servants out with a few of the usual duties they have. The following result being him and Siesta carrying piles and piles of folded student laundry to the dorm rooms.

"So Siesta I hear another day off is coming up soon. Is it true."

"Yes."

"So what do you plan to do on that day?"

"I'm not sure since me and the rest of the servants here were told on such short notice."

"I see."

"But what about you?"

"I don't know. Odds are I'll probably just stay here."

"You and miss Valliere aren't going anywhere?"

"I'm not Louise will probably want to visit her family."

"You won't be accompanying her?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Except for Cattelia Louise's familiy are not exactly the most pleasant people to be around unless you're a Noble."

"From what I hear they actually treat the servants better than most other Nobility would."

"Really?"

"Yes they're one of the few family's that still truly carry out their duties."

"That's kinda surprising, it didn't seem like that when we were brought to the manner the first time."

"You didn't notice the cheerful welcoming they had when we went there."

"That was for Louise and somehow I don't think they were doing that of their own free will."

Siesta had no real room to argue. Though unlike other nobles like count mont the Valliere's weren't abusive with their power. But if you didn't compare them with other Nobility you couldn't really say they were joyful to be around.

Seeing that speaking about Louise's familiy wasn't going anywhere the teen maid deduced that a change in subject might do some good.

"I've also been meaning to ask you about the missoin you went on."

"Yeah?"

"I heard you and the others brought back some unknown stranger. Is it true?"

"Yeah but they've been out cold ever since we found them so we're not sure who thy are."

"I see."

"Anything else you wanted to know?"

"No."

"Well then let's get the rest of these clothes put away and have a nice lunch. Sound good to you."

Siesta's eyes went wide and a slight red mark appeared across her face.

"Oh o o of course."

She may have stuttered but she was happy none the less that the boy she admired was offering to join her for lunch.

As the two continued with their chore the young maid smiled in anticipation for what was to come.

XXXXX

In the infirmary the whitish orange haired girl's eye lids twitched.

Not long after her head starting to sway and quite sounds leaked from her mouth.

One of the members noticed and kept their gaze solely on the mysterious teen female.

Her head started shifting from one side to the other before her eyes finally opened.

The member turned to the few servants in the room.

"Stay here with this girl I need to inform Osmond about this." the Mage exclaimed before leaving the room.

XXXXX

After not receiving word from the hired Mage who had beef hired to delivered special cargo to the palace of Gallia the previous night a man known as Count Jonathan who was one of the knights who aided in allowing Joseph to take the thrown dying the time the country was divided between weather Joseph or his brother should rule. After Josephs brother was murdered Jonathan had been rewarded with land and given back the title of a noble Count his part in the conspiracy after originally being stripped of his status. Since then he had served Joseph with unwavering loyalty and decided to investigate what happened with to the Noble assigned with the task of bringing to the cargo to Gallia.

He spent half of the day heading down the road that was used to transport the unknown possession.

After about six hours by horse back Jonathan came upon the wreckage left behind.

Upon discovering the scene Jonathan's face turned grim.

"Dammit where'd that incompetent fool run off to?" he said quietly to himself.

Scanning the scene he saw the bodies of chard Mercenaries Jonathan gained an idea of what happened. The problem was that he couldn't confirm it at the moment.

Getting off his horse and scrutinizing the area more thoroughly. Jonathan began to kick the bodies of the fallen Mercenaries. The idea may have seemed idiotic since all the bodies were burned but it did matter, if there was even the slightest chance one of them was still alive he had to take it. Beyond the scene he had found there wasn't any other leads he had.

Unfortunately it didn't seem to be paying off none of the burned men showed even the slightest sign of life.

The search was going no where until Jonathan suddenly heard of a voice.

He turned in the direction to see a conscious and alive mercenary sitting against the tree.

Jonathan didn't show any hesitation in walking up to the man and speaking in a demanding voice.

"Tell me what happened and I'll ease your pain."

"No nobles… f fr from Tristain."

"Yes what of them?"

"They took the girl back to an academy."

Hearing this Jonathan figured that the injured Mercenary was toying with him and grew irritated. He was looking for an unknown magical item not some worthless maiden.

"Girl? What about the cargo? Where is the cargo?!" he demanded pulling out and point a baton like wand at the hopeless mercenary.

the scarred thug started shaking and decided to change his explanation for hope of saving his own skin.

"th th the cargo…i… it's at some academy"

"An academy?"

"Ye ye…yes." the man said before coughing.

"You honestly expect me to believe that some Nobles took precious cargo to an academy?"

"The one's who took it said they were taking it there. It the …tr truth I sw swear."

Annoyed by the mercenary's constant stuttering the Gallian Mage decided to end the conversation.

"Don't worry I believe you and as such I'll ease your pain."

The burnt man gained a hopeful look in his eyes that disappeared the moment that he heard what Jonathan said next.

"By killing you quickly."

Before the fallen mercenary could even begin to plead for his life Jonathan had already used a fireball spell to incinerate the man. He wasn't sure if what the worthless maggot said was true but if it was then his search for the stolen cargo could be narrowed down to a single location and since Jonathan's orders were not to come back until he had retrieved the cargo the first Noble lost the best decision would be to head there immediately.

XXXXX

In the kitchen at the academy Saito was eating well made eating curtesy of Siesta.

A good portion of the kitchen staff was also there.

"How is it Saito?" Siesta asked referring to food Saito was eating.

"It's really good, I don't think I've ever even had soup this delicious back in my world."

"I happy you it's to your liking."

"Yeah but then everything you make is incredibly delicious."

Siesta blushed visibly hearing that comment but it went on unnoticed by Saito.

Many of the other kitchen staff members who had noticed were making varies gestures to encourage Siesta to try and make a move to win over Saito.

The maid however for some reason souldn't muster up the courage to do anything. Maybe it was because everyone else was watching her progress and she didn't want to be rejected in front of all of them. There were a few rivals for Saito's affection such as Tabitha and maybe Tiffania considering how she reacted when Saito went back to Albion to find her.

Louise seemed like a threat in the past until after the incident where Siesta and Saito both met her family. On the way there it seemed like Saito had been hopeful about his relationship with Louise but in the way back any shrew of joy or hopefulness he had was gone. He was depressed for about an entire week much to everyone's confusion and his master's annoyance.

Siesta had eventually asked Saito what had happened and found out that during their brief stay at the valliere manner Saito had confessed to Louise but was shot down due to Louise's arrogant pride as a Noble.

As the following week went by Saito became depressed and withdrawn for a time that seemed like an eternity to some.

It was only through a rather unexpected speech from Julio of all people did Saito finally come back to his senses.

Since then Siesta, Tiffania, and Tabitha have increased their efforts to get closer to him but with surprisingly little progress. In spite of not being depressed over Louise, it seemed as if Saito had become unapproachable.

It didn't make for an ideal situation but it was better than seeing Saito depressed all the time.

Soon lunch was over and Siesta had to resume her job as one of the academy's servants.

Saito decided to head to the infirmary to see how the unknown female he and the others found was.

After heading through a hall or two and down a high amount of stairs he reached the bottom floor.

To his surprise he saw a group of teachers heading in the direction of the infirmary, amongst them was Osmond along with two other staff members one was male and the other female the latter of the two looked to be leading them somewhere.

After quickly deciding to follow the group Saito listened in on what they were saying while walking behind them casually as to not draw attention. After the whitish orange haired teen was brought back it was decided that she'd have no visitors until the staff had a chance to find out who she was.

In spite of the decision made Saito at least wanted to know if the person he stumbled upon was in good condition, Colbert may have said that the stranger wasn't hurt in any way that was fatal but she couldn't have been in mint condition.

"She finally woke up? Are you sure of this?" Osmand was the one speaking, the question being directed at the staff member who was assigned the task of watching over the academy's newest guest.

"Yes sir, she was finally opening her eyes the before I came to inform you."

"Very well let us meet this person, we've waited quite a bit for this."

Osmond then spoke to himself.

"I'm still finding the story Jean told me somewhat preposterous."

"I realize that it may seem that way but the professor has always an honest

"Be at ease, if this was coming from someone I didn't know I'd never believe them but since it's him whose telling me this, then I'll take his word for it. About the magic seal and the cargo really being this girl that you've found."

The staff member smiled at hearing this. They obviously held jean in high regard.

At this point Saito decided to stop ease dropping and head for the entrance of the academy but he heard the headmasters voice again.

"Ah Saito won't you accompany us now that this girl is awake?"

Saito was startled that the headmaster noticed him.

Though he wasn't really trying to conceal his presence in any way none of any of the three staff members even glanced in his direction once when he was tailing them.

"Uh…oh alright. I don't see no reason why not."

With that short statement the japanese familiar was following the teachers the rest of the way to the infirmary.

XXXXX

Just coming out of the forest Jonathan sat on his horse viewing in the distance what looking at a tower like structure in the far distance.

He had confirmed that someone had been brought back to the place from a recent mission when he listened to a conversation between students heading back to the academy in order to gather information.

From the act he learned that some unusual girl had been brought to the academy.

Upon discovering that fact Jonathan was ready to leave until he remembered the mercenary said something about a girl during the time that he was questioned about the stolen cargo.

The Mage knight, decided to wait until nightfall. He had heard that the teachers never really took their duties of being on lookout and guarding the school grounds seriously. So it would be easy to sneak around the inside.

Jonanathon wasn't sure if the cargo was there or not but if it wasn't then he'd simply force the information out of the current headmaster and now there was now one more priority. The so called unknown girl that the Tristania nobility had brung.

Jonanathan figured that if the Tristain's mages had decided to bring said person with them then surely she must have some type of worth.

XXXXX

The Academy's newest guest was now awake and staring at the school's faculty with a blank expression.

The servants that were whaling over her claimed that the light orange haired girl hadn't spoken one bit since she woke up.

Saito had been standing next to the entrance of the infirmary watching the whole ordeal play out.

He was to say the least slightly surprised by the girl's almost completely emotionless persona. The only real emotion she showed was curiosity.

Whenever one of the servants went to grab something like a rag or stepped out of the room the mysterious teen would watch them as if trying to figure out what they were up to.

"May I have your name?" Osmond asked gaining the young female's attention.

The teen just stared at the old man. Saito found the sight kind of amusing but stepped in regardless. Pointing at himself he spoke.

"I'm Saito."

The girl turned to him and tilted her head as if attempting to properly comprehend the question.

Saito then pointed his fingure at the stranger and continued.

" And you are?"

He wasn't holding much hope in getting a response but to his surprise things played out slightly differently.

The girl finally opened her mouth and it seemed like she was eager to speak however…

"A a… Adel…"

"Yeah?" Saito said trying to get the foreigner to finish whatever she was trying to say.

"M m my na name."

Everyone's eyes widened. For the first time the teen girl was actually speaking and rather fluently to a certain extent, she seemed to have a stuttering problem.

"Ad ad…ade…Adela…"

The girl seemed to really be struggling to say whatever her name was.

The female staff member spoke up next shocking everyone with what she said.

"Are you trying to say your name is Adelaide?"

The girl in question jerked her head in the female staff member and smiled.

Everyone just took that as an indication that the answers was yes. Two things were confirmed first the forign teen had a name and she seemed to understand what otherwhere're saying to a limited extent.

"We at least know her name now." Saito said.

"Still we need more to know more about her before we can decide the best course of action. Judging from the way this girl's stressed it's fair to say she's a commoner. I believe it's best to send her on her way tomorrow." the male staff member said earning a glare from Saito who was quick to retort.

"She can barely talk. We can't just abandon her just because of her status."

The male staff member returned Saito's glare as he replied.

"This academy tends to the needs of the Nobility not the commoners so stay silent."

This particular teacher really ticked Saito off. He was recently hired and had a friendly facade around students, however around the servants he tended to be worst than even that of Eleanor.

Osmond was the next to speak.

"That'll be enough with your disagreements."

Both teacher and familiar along with the female staff member turned to the old man.

"Until we know more about who she is and where she came from we can't make any hasty decisions commoner or not."

Unable to argue the male staff member left the room angrily.

Saito was happy with how the situation played out.

Osmond then turned to the female staff member and mentioned her by name.

"Miss Giana."

"Yes?"

"You can return to your duties for the time being it seems that Adelaide I believe you called her will be fine."

"Yes sir Osmond.

Giana left the room smiling probably happy that the other staff member's suggestion wasn't going to be followed.

Turning to Saito Osmond made one last request for the day.

"Saito since you seem to have a lot of free time on your hands could you check up on this girl occasionally?"

"Sure, I've got nothing else planned."

"I'm glad to hear it so with everything resolved I'll leave her in your hands."

Not waiting for Saito to respond the headmaster left leaving Saito alone with Adelaide.

Facing the strange girl the Japanese teen opened his mouth.

"So how would you like to see the rest of the place."

Adelaide nodded and got up but stumbled a bit and nearly trip and fell on the ground face first before Saito caught her.

'you gotta be kidding me, don't tell me…'

Unfortunately before Saio could even finish that particular train of thought the question that was just running through his mind was answered when Adelaide just wrapping herself around his arm to support herself.

If anyone saw this they'd think Saito was trying to woe the previously said girl, then again since he just promised her a tour of the place and she had to use Saito for support they'd probably have that impression by the end of the day.

* * *

**And that's it for the third chapter I hope you liked it. And as for Adelaide's childish personality that will be explained a little later all I'm going to tell you guy is that reason is not her actually having the mind of a toddler.**


	4. Intruder at the academy

**It looks like this story's off to a better start then I had hoped for. This chapter is going to have a darker tone to it but I'll do my best to keep it from becoming too far dark.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ZNT.**

* * *

Showing Adelaide that outside garden area Saito wore an embarrassed look on his face.

He'd just gotten done giving Adelaide a tour the general area of the academy. Along the way he received various looks from different students. Some of them muttered about a question involving whether Saito was trying to take advantage of Adelaide. While others wet calling him a savage for making the first move( though that was just coming jealous male students who most likely were contemplating winning over Adelaide's affection.)

"So did you like seeing the place?" Saito asked.

The latter nodded happily. Well at least she wasn't disappointed and she seemed to understand a good portion of what people wore saying. Still the former wished he could get Adelaide to actually speak a bit more.

"Come on I'll take you back to the infirmary."

The day had now passed and nightfall had come so Saito figured he'd take Adelaide back to the infirmary to sleep.

It was tiresome but Saito didn't hate giving the mostly mute girl the tour. During the time she at least learned to walk much better to the point that she only needed to use Saito's side for support on the occasion instead of constantly, it wore Saito down thought the entire ordeal after a while. Adelaide wasn't heavy but having her lean on your side for hours on end does to its' toll as the void familiar found out.

XXXXX

Now that it was finally dark out Jonathon just had left his horse behind and headed in the direction of the academy.

Even if he couldn't get the information he could at least find the girl the dead mercenary had mentioned she might not compensate for the stolen cargo but Jonathan could not return to the Gallian palace without bringing something back. Since the girl was supposedly being transported with the cargo then there must have been some reason.

With these thoughts Jonathan came close enough to the academy that if someone were outside in the gardens they'd probably see him.

It didn't since matter all the students were fast asleep. So none of them wore out.

After closing the remaining distance between himself and the structure of the academy Jonathan headed for the entrance and decided to look in areas on the first floor that someone who wasn't a student or teacher would be kept.

Only two locations could possibly hold her. The servants quarters or the infirmary. Since the former of the was closer the Gallian count decided to head there.

Since during his younger days he studied abroad at the Academy he had a fair idea of where everything was however his memory wasn't pinpoint accurate due to how long it has been since he's been there last.

After heading through the entrance he started walking around the halls slowly.

Taking it slowly he enter an open area where male student was looking around frequently as of looking for someone.

Jonathan waited for the male student to leave to leave however what the mentioned boy said next indicated something that Jonathan would need to know but not happy about.

"Where's Kirche she said she'd be here tonight after she got back from that mission near the Gallian border."

That confirmed it somebody from the academy really was responsible for the missing cargo.

With this in mind Jonathan's next action was easy to decide.

"You there!" the said Mage declared as he came from behind the corner he was using to conceal himself.

The male student turned to him, his eyes going wide seeing battle wand pointed at him.

"Tell everything you know of the mission of we're just speaking of."

The male student tried to pull out his own wand only to have Jonathan use an air needle spell to pierce the misfortunate teen in his stomach with his baton like wand.

The male student cried out but no one could hear him since the were all sleeping on the upper floors. The teen was about to fall to the floor but just before his knees could make contact with the ground the hand of the intruder grab him by his hair keeping him from failing any further than down to his knees

"So are you going to cooperate or should I increase your pain?" Jonathan deadpanned tugging the wand to momentarily increase the students physical agony.

"Don't…please." the male student pleaded as tears started to stream down his face.

"Then are you going to tell me what I wish to know?"

XXXXX

Adelaide had finally fallen asleep after tossing and turning for the last hour and a half.

During that time Saito had kept watch over her and slowing feeling fatigue spreading throughout his body and now he found himself slowly drifting off to sleep.

His eye's were closed but and he was losing his sense of awareness.

For the following four to to five minutes Saito was all but asleep or right on the verge of it.

However all to soon Saito started hearing what sounding like someone arguing outside which was follow by the combination of unknown noise and screaming.

Having been startled by the noise Saito jerked his body up frantically and looked to the entrance of the infirmary out into the hall which now held an eerie orange glow.

The japanese only stood and stared until a distinct smell reached his nosterals. It was a scent Saito had become all to familiar with during the war with Albion. The smell of something burning.

XXXXX

After yanking his his weapon out of the male student's stomach and leaving him to bleed to death Jonathan headed for the infirmary shocked by what he had found out.

There was never any cargo and what the noble who had failed at his task was really transporting the girl the mercenary mentioned. If everything Jonathan had been told was true than it could only mean one thing. The girl that everyone kept speaking of was what his lord Joseph was really after.

If that was the case then taking the unknown girl who'd been brought to the academy would be his top priority.

Heading straight for the infirmary carfully scrutinized the halls making sure there were no more students. He had already taken one of their lives and that itself would be discovered soon enough and when it did the effect would most likely have a negative effect on Tristain's relationship with the rest of the entire continent. Jonathan didn't care much of that fact, he always looked down on the kingdom of Tristain for it's lack of military strength and noble who actually fulfilled their duties that bound them to protect the country, it almost forced the current queen to marry the emperor of Germania who was only interested in her chastity.

Regardless of how little respect Jonanthan had for the small country he wasn't interested in fighting any of the staff. He wasn't afraid of them but fighting them wouldn't prove to be favorable to accomplishing the mission at hand. The entire country would soon be after him for his actions.

With the need to perform the task swiftly in mind the Gallian count's sense of caution started to drop. And he headed through the halls without looking around.

Before long he came to a hall where a figure was standing guard much to Jonathan's surprise.

The person wore black pants and white shirt along with a purple cloak over it.

"Who are you?" the figure demanded.

Upon being questioned Jonathan felt no need to hide his intentions, the best decision for him now would be to just kill the staff member and continue on to his goal.

"I'm surprised that one of you has the willpower to take your duty seriously. I honestly believed that all the staff here had become lazy barbarians."

The staff member eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?"

"All you need to know is that I'm here for the girl you're keeping in the infirmary."

"That worthless plebeian?"

"Yes, I've recently found that she holds more worth than I had originally thought."

The staff member than eyed the battle wand Jonathan was holding and saw it was covered in thin streams of blood traveling down it and dropping to the ground.

"What have you done?!" the staff member exclaimed.

Jonathan looked at his wand with an expression of indifference before he answered.

"I dealt with one of your spoiled students."

The staff member glared daggers at the intruder now.

"You savage!" he yelled.

"I'm a savage now, last I heard all the mages of this pitiful country thought Germanians were savages."

"How dare you? Too insult this kingdom which was founded by Brimir himself!"

"It matters not if the country degrades so far that it's people lose the will to protect it."

"YOU INSOLENT FOOL!"

At this point the staff member was red with pure rage. The only thoughts passing through his mind were those of teaching the upstart who dared to insult the country of Tristain.

Pulling out his wand he began an incantation but before he could get very far though Jonathan released a fire ball the engulfed the staff member.

His screams filled the halls of the first floor of the academy for no one to hear since they were on hire floors.

With the insolent staff member out of the way Jonathan turned to head to the infirmary but what he saw nest caught him off guard. A boy dressed rather unusually was standing across the hall from him with a shocked look on his face.

Judging by the way he was dressed he was without a doubt a commoner.

"Who are you?" the boy demanded

Saito was immediately on guard. Who never seen the man in front of him any near the academy before so he knew the man was an intruder.

The latter wore long tan pants and dark blue shirt which had a decorative white pattern on it which along with the mantle that bore what looked like a foreign crest( To Saito, it's actually the crest of Gallia but Saito is unaware of that.) the man had thick brown hair who was most likely in his late twenties.

"Know your place boy, who I am is none of your concern, I came here for one thing and one thing only."

"Whatever it is I doubt you're going to find it here?" Saito said acting as if he knew what the intruder was after hoping to dissuade him fr his actions.

"You certainly are ignorant if you believe that, but it's to be expected considering your low status."

The intruder than pointed his wand at Saito who tensed up.

"Move aside and do not speak a word of what you saw and I shall spare your mongrel life." Jonathan declared.

"There's nothing here."

"Hm?"

"Whatever you're looking for it's not here."

"Oh really now. Are you sure of that? Or are you just lying."

"I'm telling the truth." Saito wanting to use force to make this guy to retreat and leave but unfortunately he didn't have Derflinger he had left the sword in the infirmary with Adelaide and the unknown Mage already had his wand at the ready so even if Saito made a run for it he'd be six feet under.

"Then Why don't I believe you?" asked Jonathan glaring at the boy in front of him before continuing.

"There was a girl brought to this academy and I've been informed that she's in the infirmary now move."

Saito stood his ground firmly putting up a brave display but was sweating due to how unfavorable the situation was even if the person he was confronting couldn't see it because of the clothes Saito was wearing.

Becoming further irritated by Saito's stubborn actions Jonathan became fed up.

"Since you don't want do heed my warnings you can die here. "

With that Jonathan released a simple line class fire ball unlike the previous one he used on the staff member.

As the stream of fire came closer Saito desperately scanned his surrounding looking for a another hall to dash into or an object to hide behind there was no such of object in sight nor any other halls to go into. There was an occasional door but they but all locked at night.

The fireball was wide enough the it filled the full width of the hall do dodging it was out of the question and so was unit running it without the speed boost from the Gundalfr ability.

In the following moments movement began to finally to take hold of Saito's body as he run while the flame pursued him.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! OK I hope you guys enjoyed this scene and I apologize if the plot feels rushed but I'll try and keep it at a steadier pace in the future. Now if you'll all excuse me I need to work out the plot some more because while I was writing this chapter and thinking of future events I could have happen I had a great idea.**


	5. Display of foreign power

**Time for the cliffhanger to end and the story to continue.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ZNT**

* * *

Parts of the lower halls were ablaze with fire enough the it was harder to maneuver through the said hall but not impossible.

Jonathan however was forced to occasionally use a water spell to but out some of the flames to clear a the path to the infirmary.

He was in a rushed to get there now. Because of his confrontations with the student, staff member, and now with annoying plebeian, the all of the Triniania Nobility would likely be after him

He couldn't waste anymore time he had to find the rumored girl and leave. If he was caught the palace of the small kingdom would have his head and it would likely have a negative effect with relations between Gallia and Tristain. Jonathan doubted Joseph himself would care but it still wouldn't prove favorable to be a center of political conflict.

After getting through the hall the was lit ablaze an rounding the next corner turning left the Gallian count saw the entrance to the infirmary in sight.

Quickly heading for the room Jonathan stood in front and peered inside. Seeing nothing but darkness Jonathan lit a small torch at the end of his wand to illuminate the room.

Looking around the room seemed vacant save for the multiple beds and shelves full of books.

However the room was the only lead Jonathan had to the girls location. With this thought in mind he entered and slowly advanced deeper into the room only to be met with nothing.

Looking at the beds he noticed all of them were empty however one of the had a bunched up blanket on them indicating that the bed was being used at one time.

However the sight raised the question of rather the girl Jonathan was looking for was really there or if she or not.

However before he had a chance to look around further the sound of stumbling jerked his attention.

"NOOOWWW!" a voice yelled followed by the sound of footsteps running for the entrance.

Jonathan spun around to see a whitish orange haired girl leave the room running frantically.

Assuming that she was the individual he was searching for Jonathan dashed for the entrance before being hit in the stomach by a column of stone coming out of the ground.

The blow sent the Gallian Mage skidding across the ground and knocked the air out of him.

Sitting up and turning around he saw someone he thought he had gotten rid of, it was the teacher that attempted to impede the progress of Jonathan's mission.

The teacher had a look of displeasure on his face, the right side of his body was severely burned.

"You have dared to attack this great institution for gifted mages and have tarnished this academy's honer! No longer will you be forgiven for your crimes against this country. I Barren Vince Lerwick will take it upon myself to execute you!"

Jonathan had grown annoyed with the inferences caused by those at the academy, the only thing he wanted was to get back what was taken in order to please Joseph and further obtain the favor of the palace of Gallia.

"You worthless maggot stay out of my way." Jonanthan exclaimed before shooting a stream of fire at Vince who responded by using earth magic to create of a stone slab which blocked the incoming spell.

Coming from behind the shield he formed from the ground Vince attempted to created a line class( not triangle) Golem but was stopped when a line class fireball hit his left arm causing him to drop his wand and scream in pain.

dashing after Vince who attempted to grab his wand to prepare another spell.

However there wasn't enough time for the latter to achieve his goal, the distance between him an the intruder was short.

Jonathan was quickly closing the distance with everystep.

However just before the gap was completely closed Vince had wrapped his fingers around his wand and had point it at Jonathan who attempted impale him though his heart with an air needle spell. However the staff member fell backwards just barely avoiding certain death via sheer luck.

Not wasting the opportunity Vince used his magic to make another stone column which grew out of the ground at a fast pace and quickly impacted with Jonathan's stomach with much more force then the previous one.

The pain the blow caused kept Jonanthan from recovering quickly like he did with the first attack that hit him, because of this he was laying on the ground clutching his midriff his both arms.

Failing to take note of the fact that Jonathan was still holding his blood soaked battle wand Jonathan walked over to the opponent he believed to be defeated.

"What is your reason?"

Jonathan shot a quickly glance while still laying on his side before the Barren of tristainia repeated the previous question.

"What is the reason that you came here and killed an innocent student?"

"I told you already."

"You mean to say that you took a Noble child's life to obtain possession of a mere commoner?!"

"Yes."

"Why, what is it about that damned brat that everyone's after?"

"I do not know, the only thing I'm aware of is that whatever or may be My lord Joseph is after it."

Vince's eyes became wide at hearing that.

"That incompetent man? What could that barbaric fool want possibly want from some unneeded peasant?"

"I already told you I don't know. All that matters is retrieving the girl from this place."

"If that's your choice then it is my duty to stop you."

"Why? You were just speaking of the girl as if her life held no meaning. So what's the point in trying to get in my way."

"The sake of the deceased student's honer."

"The how long are you going to go on about that imbecile? Heh it's rather funny seeing you so worked up over one boy"

Vince grew more angered by Jonathan's disinterest at the subject of the student's death. Through the former's eyes the student was a great Tristanian Mage with a promising future that'd be a great benefit to a number of people.

To the latter the said boy was nothing more than a spoiled brat who'd shame his family name assuming it still maintain its honer.

Which point of view was correct was something no one could tell for a fact.

Vince pointed his wand at and started to ready a spell to finish the intruder. Unfortunately during to exchange of words the Gallian count had readied a triangle class fireball and immediately used it engulf the overconfident teacher.

"Daaammmmn yooouuuuu!" the staff member screamed while the echoes in the halls carried the sound of his voice throughout the entire floor.

The winner of the battle between the Count of Gallia and Barren and Tristain had been decided

XXXXX

Adelaide was running frantically through the halls desperately trying to find Saito. In her arms she was carrying the enchanted sword created for every Gundalfr to use, Derflinger.

"Let's hurry and find partner."

Adelaide didn't say anything she just kept running tripping and falling on multiple occasions but she'd immediately get back up and continue her search.

To Adelaide Saito's side was the only safe place, he was at the least the only person she could really put her trust into. There wasn't anybody else she interacted with so others couldn't be trusted.

As the academy's newest guest ran through the halls of the first floor stumbling occasionally as she heard the enraged voice of her pursuer calling after her.

From the direction of the sound it was already clear the enemy Mage was coming after her.

She wasn't sure if she could truly find Saito, but she had to try, at this point it felt like the only thing that could be done to escape the current situation.

XXXXX

Laying on top of a severely damaged door that had been knocked off it's hinges was an injured teenage boy known as Saito hirage.

A while ago he had been confronted by a Mage who he had never seen before. The result being the Mage trying to incinerate him to ash.

Remembering the experience which was still fresh in his mind Saito's expression grimaced.

_(flash back)_

_Being in the small hall Saito was in he could't just step out of the incoming flame's path and running away was out of the question leaving him with one option._

_While the stream of fire closed in in Saito looked to the only one way out of his current life threatening predicament._

_In the next few seconds he was sprinting towards one of the nearby wooden doors._

_He couldn't open it since it was locked which left the familiar with one choice. He had to literally knocked the door off its hinges._

_The task was definitely easier said than done. For one thing the door was made of thick wood, and to mark matters worse Saito's runes weren't active so his strength was normal._

_Because of the particular circumstances Saito had to use every ounce of his strength when he collided with the door. The impact was more painful than the teen boy had anticipated. Regardless it was much more preferable as opposed to being incinerated to ash._

_(end)_

Saito struggled from the strain of the fractured bone inside the arm that he used to bash the door down to stand but made success grunting in the process of it.

It was just plain miraculas he was alive. The fire Mage that tried to kill him walked by the opened doorway without even shooting a glance inside. Saito found himself having to admit that the arrogance of Nobles actually paid off for once.

Walking out of the room and back into the hall the Japanese teen saw it was completely covered in burn marks.

The smell of burnt materials filled Saito's nose but he decided the best action to take was to ignore it and find Derflinger back in the infirmary.

Questions started run through the swordsman's mind pertaining to who the girl was, where did she come from and why joseph was after her.

Deciding not to waste anymore time the void familiar starting to sprint into the direction of the infirmary where Adelaide and his enchanted sword were.

He was confused about why all this was happening but att the moment it didn't matter just protecting Adelaide took precedence.

XXXXX

Adelaide's situation was now becoming completely desperete. Her pursuer had caught up to her and was hot on her heels.

His face was contorted in nothing more than pure annoyance. To him the missoin was Supposed to have been more or less simple.

Just retrieve whatever was stolen from the Noble who had failed with his delivery and complete the job in his place. Tracking his objective down went as he anticipated, but obtaining her didn't turn out as planned.

"Where do you're going you damned wench!" Jonathan yelled after the girl he was chasing.

Regardless of all the insults and demands the Count had shouted his current objective had chosen to ignore him every time and continue fleeing.

Unnsure of why she wouldn't listen Jonathan's irritation only worsened.

Being ignored by a plebeian was absolutely unacceptable by Jonathan's standards as such he constipated beating the hopeless girl when he caught her. He may make sure not to kill her her but he'd definitely teach her severe lesson.

"This is your finale warning to cease this pointless game of cat and mouse!" the Mage declared referring to the chase Adelaide was putting him through.

Regardless of what he said or how demanding he sound the light orange haired girl still ignored him.

The decision to ignore him was the last straw and the Gallian Mage decided to switch to a more forceful tactic.

He pointed his wand out and shot a fireball at Adelaide's leg.

The shot hit its mark causing the latter to actually scream out and fall face first to the ground dropping Derflinger in the process.

The pain in her leg was unbearable but she still had to find Saito. With that sole thought in mind Adelaide attempted to get back on her feet again only for a foot to stomp on her back.

The said girl managed to turn her head enough to view Jonathan who was now pressing his foot into her back and starting to crouch down.

In the next moment he grabbed a handful of Adelaide's hair and tugged it with enough force that the latter let out a brief cry of pain.

"I hope you're ready to cooperate, I'd prefer not to damage my lord's prize any further." the former said pulling the hopeless girl's hair back and forth.

Suddenly another yelled out.

"Don't worry you won't be putting another scratch on her."

Before Jonathan could turn to see who had said that a fist rammed into his face knocking him off of Adeliade.

The said girl looked up to see who she had been looking for.

Saito.

The sword which was laying on the ground in in between the two teens spoke next.

"What took you so long partner? I was worried you weren't gonna show up."

"Sorry I had a little delay getting here." the boy from earth declared as he pulled Derflinger from his seethe.

Jonathan stared at the commoner with an expression that showed nothing short of pure shock.

"H h how?…I burnt you alive."

"Sorry to disappoint but I won't go down that easy." Saito declared running at the Mage.

Jonathan pointed his wand at the persistent commoner and shot off as lighting bolt.

It almost caught Saito off guard since up until now his opponent never used any another attack from basic fire spells(Saito hasn't seen Jonathan use an air needle), despite this Saito cut used Derflinger to absorb and negate the spell and closed the distance between himself and his enemy.

As the familiar bought his blade up in a daignal motion Jonathan attempted to block the blow with with battle wand but wasn't fast enough and received a deep gash across his chest.

Stumbling back involunterily Jonathan grunted trying to ignore the pain. His bafflement only increased at the events that had just unfolded.

He took the possibility of being confronted by a troublesome opponent such as a teacher into consideration and not an ordinary commoner.

Saito dashed at the confused intruder, but the said Mage was ready in spite of his state of mind

and used his wand to block Saito's attacks.

Little by little though Saito was wearing him down, if thing continued taking their course much longer Jonathan would be defeated here.

He couldn't allow that to happen. He came to far, he refused to fail here.

While blocking to blows Saito was sending at him, he began to chant.

He decided to change the element he was using. Though he was best at using fire he was still a triangle class Mage and one that was capable of going against a square class one.

Saito noticed Jonahtan's actions and attacked with more force with the idea of breaking through the mage's defenses before he compete the incantation.

The action made the former stumbling backwards occasionally but astoundingly he stayed standing and continued on with the chant.

Before long he was two thirds of the way done with the incantation.

Somehow Saito must've noticed that he was almost done because he locked his sword with Jonathan's wand and sent a fist into Jonathan's face.

The Mage was sent skidding across the floor.

Saito not wanting to give his opponent the chance to recover ran after him while he was still sprawled out on the ground.

However in response Jonathan point his wand up and fired a wind spell which sent Saito flying backwards. Getting to his feet Jonathan held his wand at the ready and released another stream of fire which made its way towards the familiar.

Saito hadn't got back on his feet and to make matters worst and dropped Derflinger when he was hit with the previous spell, and to add on to how critical the situation he landed right in front of Adelaide who now held her hand as if block the incoming attack.

This wasn't favorable in the least even if the spell hit Saito it would still engulf and kill Adelaide also.

Saito was about to yell for her to get out of the way and noticed something off with Adelaide or rather a single feature of her appearance.

Her irises now had white glowing rings around the edges of them.

Soon the approaching fireball was two and half meters away.

Then it was two Meters.

Then one and a half.

Saito closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. No matter how one viewed the situation the outcome was unenviable, all Saito could do was ready himself for the finale attack. It never came.

A sound was heard, it sounded rather unusual like the fire crashed into something but the impact sounded strange, enigmatic. What follow was the angry voice of the Count.

"WHAT THE!? WAHT DID YOU JUST DO?!" the intruder screamed out.

Saito slowly opened his eyes just enough to see what was in front of him. What he say made his eyes shoot open.

Flaming was still trying to come at him and Adelaide. However the was completely foreign object that held the flame back not allowing it to advance even a single centimeter further.

What looked to be some kind of magic circle floated protectively in front of Saito and Adelaide.

It was full of different designs that covered all of the inner body, and the outer area just behind the edge was covered in writing that looked different from what the people of Halkeginia or earth use. The entire circle had an azure blue color to it.

Saito shot a glance at Adelaide again. She still held the same pose only now the was a white glowing orb in front of the hand she extended out and Adelaide herself had a white glowing outline around her entire body.

New questions surfaced in Saito's mind as he now stared wide eyed at the orange haired girl. One question at the moment was weighing on Saito's mind above the rest.

Just who was Adelaide?

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter I made a few minor changes but I still think it came out pretty good.**


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